Ideas don't desert you; ideas aren't treasonous to you, but people can be.
The law is agnostic about truth. It's very skeptical of ultimate truth. That's why freedom of speech permits lies to be told.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The law does not define absolute truths and allows freedom of expression, even when it involves falsehoods.
This quote by Alan Dershowitz highlights the nature of law in its relationship with truth. It emphasizes that the legal system does not endorse a singular, ultimate truth and instead functions on principles that allow individuals to express themselves, even if that expression includes dishonest or misleading statements. This skepticism towards absolute truth within the framework of law underpins the importance of freedom of speech as a democratic right, even when it may lead to the dissemination of lies.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
This quote is apt for a debate on media ethics during a journalism symposium.
More from Alan Dershowitz
All quotes βEd Koch will never "rest in peace." That was not his way. He was always nervously squirming, while making others squirm as well. Comfort was not his goal. He understood that to be a proud and assertive Jew meant never being able to leave a sigh of relief and say "it's over, we are at peace, we can now put down our guard and relax."
It's never acceptable to target civilians. It violates the Geneva Accords, it violates the international law of war and it violates all principles of morality.
When I was growing up, my mother would always say, 'It will go on your permanent record.' There was no 'permanent record.' If there were a 'permanent record,' I'd never be able to be a lawyer. I was such a bum, in elementary school and high school... There is a permanent record today and it's called the Internet.
A good lawyer knows how to shut up when he's won his case.
Scientists search for truth. Philosophers search for morality. A criminal trial searches for only one result: proof beyond a reasonable doubt.
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How do I know you'll keep your word?" asked Coraline. "I swear it," said the other mother. "I swear it on my own mother's grave." "Does she have a grave?" asked Coraline. "Oh yes," said the other mother. "I put her in there myself. And when I found her trying to crawl out, I put her back.
Great men are like eagles, and build their nest on some lofty solitude.
No one β¦ can entirely step out of his time, that despite his keenness of vision his thinking is in many ways bound to be influenced by the mentality of his time
Who most benefits from keeping marijuana illegal? The greatest beneficiaries are the major criminal organizations in Mexico and elsewhere that earn billions of dollars annually from this illicit trade - and who would rapidly lose their competitive advantage if marijuana were a legal commodity.
Decidedly it will never have been given to me to finish anything, except perhaps breathing. One must not be greedy.
Commercialism is laying its great greasy paw upon everything including the irresponsible quest of thrills; so that, whatever democracy may be theoretically, one is sometimes tempted to define it practically as standardized and commercialized melodrama.